Union sets Tube bosses deadline over strike (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)
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Union sets Tube bosses deadline over strike
12:07pm Friday 31st August 2007 in News By Jonathan Bunn
A UNION has demanded an assurance that the safety of Tube staff will not be put at risk if industrial action by maintenance workers takes place.
Staff working for failed private firm Metronet, which maintains lines serving Waltham Forest, are due to strike for 72 hours from Monday evening over pensions and potential job losses.
But the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT), whose members are involved in the walk out, have set Tube bosses a deadline of 5pm today (August 31) to unconditionally guarantee that staff will not be expected to drive trains which have not undergone safety inspections by qualified staff during the strike.
The RMT have already warned that the strike will have a "massive, cumulative impact" on lines maintained by Metronet and the unions uncompromising stance could see the disruption to passengers escalate.
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "Our members regard the current train-preparation and track-inspection procedures as minimum standards, and they are not prepared to see them diluted, temporarily or otherwise."
Metronet went into administration last month.
